achiote-spiced meatballs coated in cilantro powder with a smoked pineapple and habanero jelly, pickled onions, radish, cotija cheese, corn pudding and a smoked poblano buttermilk sauce
Recipe courtesy of Chad Myers, Chef de Cuisine, Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa
Ingredients
- Meatballs
- Berkshire pork - 2 lbs., ground
- Panko breadcrumbs - 1/2 cup, soaked in milk to create 'bread sludge' or panada
- onion - 1 ea., minced
- cilantro - 1/4 cup, chopped
- eggs - 2 ea.
- Worcestershire sauce - 2 shakes
- 'red rub' paste - 4 Tbsp. (recipe follows)
- Red Rub
- ancho chiles - 5 ea., dried
- guajillo chiles - 4 ea., dried
- garlic - 5 cloves
- achiote paste - 1 Tbsp.
- bay leaves - 3 ea.
- salt - to taste
- pepper - to taste
- lime - 1 ea., juice and zest
- Pineapple Habanero Jelly
- pineapple - 1 ea.
- habanero - 1 ea.
- sugar - 1/2 lb.
- lime - 1 ea., juice and zest
- Corn Pudding
- corn - 12 cobs
- butter - 1/4 cup, cubed, cold
- Poblano Sauce
- poblanos - 4 ea.
- garlic - 4 cloves
- red onions - 2 ea.
- lime - 1 ea., juice
- cilantro - 1 bunch
- buttermilk - as needed
- Pickled Onion
- red onions - 4 ea., thinly sliced, julienne, or sliced on a mandolin, very fine
- pickling spice - 4 Tbsp.
- apple juice - 1 qt.
- apple cider vinegar - 1/2 cup
- Morita chiles - 2 ea., dried
- sugar - 1 cup
- beets - 2 ea., peeled and cut into medium-sized chunks
- Cilantro Powder
- cilantro - leaves, dehydrated
- Garnish
- cotija cheese - crumbled
- radishes - sliced, cut on the radius and twisted into a cylinder-like shape
- cilantro - micro leaves
Instructions
Procedure for Meatballs:
- Combine all ingredients and shape into 1.5-oz. meatballs.
- Roast in 375°F oven for about 12 minutes or until internal temperature of 165 is reached.
Procedure for Red Rub:
- Rehydrate chiles with bay leaves and garlic in water. Medium heat on stove.
- Take out bay leaves and purée rest of ingredients together to make paste.
Procedure for Pineapple Habanero Jelly:
- Purée pineapple and habanero. Put through strainer and into a pot with the sugar and lime. Cook on medium low until thick and syrupy.
- Add some of the pulp back to the mixture to give it a little texture and volume to taste. Can also add a couple grams of agar agar while cooking to tighten it up a little. Blend after it cools and sets.
Procedure for Corn Pudding:
- Cut corn off cob, juice it and cook low and slow until thick. (Chef's note: Watch it while it cooks. It can burn/scorch quickly.)
- Put in blender and put on low. Slowly drop cubes of butter in to emulsify mixture. Purée with cold butter with salt and pepper to taste.
Procedure for Poblano Sauce:
- Smoke or roast under broiler 4 poblanos, 4 cloves garlic, and 2 red onions and purée with juice of 1 lime and 1 bunch cilantro.
- Put on medium low and drizzle in enough buttermilk to create a sauce with pesto-like consistency.
Procedure for Pickled Onion:
- Put onions in a large container or bowl with a fine strainer over it. In a pot add pickling spice, apple juice, apple cider vinegar, Morita chiles, sugar and beets.
- Bring mixture to a boil. Put on medium and simmer for 8-10 minutes to develop flavor.
- Pour everything through strainer so hot liquid and onions are in container.
- Pick out a chile and the beet chunks and add to onions. Discard the pickling spice.
- Add a handful of ice, cover, and put in fridge. Let sit overnight.
Procedure for Cilantro Powder:
- Dehydrate cilantro leaves and grind into powder using a blender.
